Dating back to the 1990’s Casper & the Cookies have been dishing out music in some form or another. One of the best bands you may have never heard of, their musical styles bounce all over the place creating albums that keep the listener guessing what will come next. This is not a bad thing because their records are exciting pop infused songs built around fuzzy guitars and the vocals of Jason NeSmith and Kay Stanton. They have just released their latest album Dingbats and after extensive listening it may be the most solid set of tunes NeSmith and crew have ever doled out.

The album kicks off with the straight forward indie rocker “Improvvisamente Ardito”. Droning guitars and thunderous percussion attack the listener’s auditory senses before NeSmith’s vocals kick in to soothe things over. It draws listeners in before things get a little sideways. Dingbats jumps all over the place, but not in an inconsistent way. Showing off their wide range of musical talent they mix together a variety of music, sounds and noises. On “Drug Facts”, haunting vocals, mix effortlessly with pianos and a hint of strings, they lead listeners on a sonic spacey journey with “White Noise” and sparse melodies and vocals dominate “Lemon Horses” creating an odd yet pleasing sound. Dingbats is loaded with a ton of killer music with songs like the punk infused “Jennifer’s House” or the 80’s feeling “Thing For Ugly” but the highlight of the record has to be “When The Moon Was In Command”. Saving the best for last, the epic tune evolves from choppy noise into a brilliantly arranged track utilizing strings, percussion and piano to dull down NeSmith’s ranting.

I have been a fan of Casper & the Cookies for quite some time and always welcome any addition to their catalog. They are not afraid to do things differently which leads to original sounding music that is a joy to listen to. If you have never partaken in their music I suggest you start here and work your way backwards.